


A Day at the Mall

by kathiann



Category: The Mentalist
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Gen, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-03-03
Updated: 2009-03-07
Packaged: 2017-12-10 01:45:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/780344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kathiann/pseuds/kathiann
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The team has a weekend off and they all head to the mall. What happens when they meet up with each other. Set mid season 1</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Grace Van Pelt

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Ebony10 for being my beta

Shoes. They were her secret obsession. No one who saw Grace every day at work would guess that at home, in her closet, were an uncountable number of shoes. If you believe the stories her mom tells, she had always loved shoes. It killed her to have to wear such utilitarian shoes every day at work, but it came with the job.

 

Her favorite thing to do is shoe shopping. She didn't have a very large budget for actually buying the shoes, but she loved to go to the mall and walk through all the department stores. She would look at the clothes of course, but her real joy was walking through the shoe sections. All of the shoes in all different colors, shapes and sizes. She felt like a kid in a candy store.

 

She hadn't had a chance to go shopping lately; she'd been too busy at work. But today—today was the day. They had finished up the last case they were on and they had the weekend free. Barring anyone in the state of California doing something stupid, she would be able to spend the whole day at the mall.

 

And so here she was, walking through one of the larger department stores. The shoe section was huge. She had walked through the clothes first and had actually found a new shirt and a couple of pairs of pants for work. But now it was time for the shoes.

 

She had her I-Pod on as she walked around. She didn't want the screaming children shopping with their parents to detract from the happy mode she was in. The playlist she was listening to came to an end and, as she went to start a new one, she heard a voice she recognized. She looked up and saw Rigsby walking through the she section caring a large number of bags and following a woman who had to be at least ten years younger than him.

 

She quickly looked away, hoping that he hadn't seen her. It didn't seem like he had, but the girl he was with came over to the display next to the one Grace was looking at. Even with her music going, she could hear the girl talking to Rigsby.

 

"Wayne, if you complain about being hungry one more time, I'm going to shove this shoe down your throat. That ought to keep you from being hungry."

 

"I'm just hungry. It's been four hours since breakfast and I'm hungry. I can smell Cinnabon form here."

 

"You cannot."

 

Grace didn't mean to listen, but she almost couldn't help it. It was so like Rigsby to be complaining about being hungry. He never remembers to bring snacks. She was smiling to herself when the girl he was with spoke again.

 

"Wayne, so help me, if you try to sneak off again I'm going to tell mom that you tried to get out of spending the day at the mall with me."

 

"This is so stupid."

 

"You're the one that said Dad couldn't eat the entire batch of cookies Mom made without throwing up."

 

Grace looked up and stared. Was this girl his sister? She had thought it was his girlfriend. She thought that he had traded the 'someone older' for 'someone younger.' Unfortunately his sister caught her staring and called her on it.

 

"Excuse me, do you need something?" She asked with a slight attitude.

 

"Um, no, sorry," said Grace quickly, hoping to move away before Rigsby saw her, but it was too late.

 

"Van Pelt, is that you?" He looked happier than she had seen him the whole time she had been watching them. Grace turned off her music and took her earbuds out of her ears.

 

"Hey, Rigsby, what brings you to the mall on your day off?" She was trying to sound casual, but she didn't think it was working.

 

"I lost a bet with my sister and now have the joy of spending the day at the mall with her. I'm having a blast."

 

His sister, not wanting to be left out, interrupted and said, "Hi, I'm Jan, Wayne's sister. Do you work with him?"

 

"Sorry. Yeah, I do." Grace put her hand out for Jan to shake. "My name is Grace. I've been working with your brother for almost a year now."

 

"Nice to meet you." She moved in closer as if she was going to whisper something to Grace, "So tell me, what's Wayne like at work?"

 

"Well, he's a hard worker and always hungry."

 

"You're not kidding."

 

"I've actually started to carry snacks with me when I'm working with him, just to keep him from complaining."

 

"Really?" Jan looked intrigued. "I've never thought about doing that."

 

"I actually think I still have something in my bag from yesterday." She started to look through her purse.

 

Wayne was standing next to his sister feeling just a little bit uncomfortable that his sister and the woman he liked were talking about him like he wasn't there. "Not carrots, _please_ not carrots," he was mumbling under his breath. He didn't think he would be able to survive if she brought out a bag full of carrots.

"Granola bar and raisins." Grace said, producing them out of her bag.

"That's almost as bad as the carrots," Rigsby grumbled, reluctantly taking them from Grace.

"I could take them back." Grace smiled at him.

 

Jan watched the two interacting and tried not to laugh. It was obvious that they were attracted to each other, but that they had no plans for acting on it. 

 

Suddenly, she had an idea. "You know, Grace, Wayne has really been a good brother most of the day, following me around the mall. I still have some shopping today. Would you mind going with him to the food court to get him some lunch? I'm sure he would rather spend the time with you than with his kid sister."

 

Rigsby looked slightly flustered at his sister's forwardness, but if Grace was embarrassed she didn't show it. "You know what Jan. I think that's a good idea. Come on, Rigsby. Let's see if we can find you some food."

 

Grace started to walk off and Rigsby followed seconds later, after hastily handing his sister back her bags. Jan just shook her head. Man, he had it bad.


	2. Patrick Jane

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've decide to do this in five parts, one for each person on the team. Thanks to Ebony10 for being my beta.

He was people watching. He loved to do it, to look at people as they went by, trying to figure out their life stories from the thirty second glances he got of them while he sat on this bench. He used to come to this mall with his wife and daughter. They would go off shopping and he would sit here, watching the people as they went by. It had been an interesting day so far.

 

He had seen both Van Pelt and Rigsby go into the same department store. It was obvious to him that they liked each other, but they seemed oblivious to it. Rigsby, of course, had admitted to it, but not to her as far as he knew and he was pretty sure that Van Pelt was clueless to the fact that she liked Rigsby.

 

Rigsby had been with his little sister. Jane knew that he didn't live at home anymore so the fact that he was spending the day at the mall with a sister who was at least ten years younger probably meant that he had lost some sort of bet.

 

Van Pelt had been alone, which didn't surprise him. He had first seen her looking in the window of the shoe store that was across from the food court. If he had to guess he would say that she loved to buy the expensive shoes, but her salary didn't support that habit so she settled for looking instead.

 

Right now he was waiting for two things. One was for Rigsby and Van Pelt to come out of the department store together. It looked like he wasn't going to have to wait long for that one as they were walking out of the department store and towards the food court. They were closer together than they probably had to be, but neither seemed to notice.

 

The second thing he was waiting for was for Lisbon. That was why he had chosen this particular bench. It was close to the food court so he would be able to see Van Pelt and Rigsby making fools out of themselves by pretending not to be attracted to each other and it was close to the store that he knew Lisbon was going to be visiting today.

 

He had planned it this way. He had wanted an excuse to run into her on a day off and he had finally found one. He had waited until it looked like they were going to have the weekend off and had used the last of the lotion that she kept in her desk. He knew she was going to have to come to the mall to replace it. In all these years of working with her, she always bought the same type of lotion. Victoria's Secret lotion. It had surprised him the first time he had smelled it on her, but he supposed she was a woman and, as such, would shop at the store. She just didn't seem the Victoria's Secret type.

 

And here she came. She was listing to an I-pod the same as Van Pelt had when she had come into the mall. It seemed to be their way of shutting out the world, of saying it was their day off so just leave them alone. As he expected, the first store he saw her go into was Victoria's Secret. He waited a few minutes, not sure if she would be coming out quickly or if she would take her time and do other shopping as well. When she hadn't come out a few minutes later, Jane decided to go into the store and see her.

 

Many guys have no desire to go into a woman's lingerie store; there were in fact a small group of men waiting outside the store, pretending not to be looking in the windows. As Jane walked by one of them, he leaned over and whispered to him "Your girls friend probably wouldn't mind if you helped her pick it out, but don't let her know that you would rather wear it instead of seeing it on her." The man looked like he was going to attack Jane who just laughed and walked into the store, confidant that the man wouldn't be following him.

 

It took him a few minutes to find Lisbon once he got into the store. She was shorter than most of the people there so it was harder to see her through the sea of women. When he spotted her he smiled slightly. She was indeed looking at the lingerie that was on display.

 

He walked up behind her slowly and spoke to her just loud enough to be heard over her music. "Are you planning on wearing that to work? Because I would pay to see it."

 

She spun around quickly and saw Jane standing there laughing at her. Her face was a bright shade of red. "I was just looking for your information. I had to come in and by more lotion. Someone used all of mine." Although she was still clearly embarrassed at being found in this particular store by Jane, she still managed to glare at him.

 

"Hey, if you don't want people to use your lotion, don't leave it sitting on your desk." He was trying to put on an innocent act, but she wasn't buying it.

 

"It wasn't on my desk. It was in a locked drawer."

 

"So I had dry hands. I knew you wouldn't mind." He grinned at her and knew she wouldn't stay mad for long.

 

"What are you doing in a woman's lingerie store anyway? Not hiding anything from the rest of the team are you?"

 

Now it was Jane's turn to be embarrassed. "No, I came into see if there was anything I could help you with. Any special occasions coming up that you are buying for?"

 

"No and if you don't mind, I'm trying to relax on my day off." She turned back to the rack, hoping he would get the hint and leave, but this was Jane. He did what he wanted, not what you wanted him to do.

 

"I like the blue one," he said into her ear again. This time she turned off her music and took her ear buds out.

 

"Will you leave me alone?" She was starting to get mad. She looked up and noticed a saleswoman coming towards them.

 

"Is everything alright, ma'am?" the saleswoman asked Lisbon. "If he's bothering you we can get security to remove him." She gestured towards the mean-looking man in the entry way of the store.

 

"My wife and I were just having a difference of opinion." Said Jane before Lisbon could answer. "Tell me," he said turning to the saleswoman and putting on his most charming smile, "Do you think she would look better in the blue or the red?"

 

"Well," the saleswoman said, now in her element, "The red is always popular, but it's not quite the right shade for her skin tone. I think the dark blue would do better."

 

"Thank you very much." Said Jane to the saleswoman, who smiled and walked away. He turned back to Lisbon with a triumphant look on his face. "What did I tell you? The blue would definitely be better."

 

Lisbon growled at him and stomped up to the cash register with her lotion. Jane decided not to push his luck at that point and went to wait outside for her to exit. She almost snuck by him by walking on the other side of a rather large couple, but Jane spotted her and ran to catch up with her.

 

"Come have lunch with me?" He asked, noticing that she hadn't put her ear buds back in yet.

 

"I've already eaten lunch." She was trying to walk quickly, but the mall was crowded today and it was difficult.

 

"You're lying," he said without hesitation. "It's just lunch. It won't kill you."

 

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." She mumbled under her breath. If Jane heard her, he chose to ignore her comment.

 

"Rigsby and Van Pelt are eating lunch together." He said as if that would help her decide.

 

"How do you know they're eating lunch together?" She had stopped by the bench that he had been sitting on earlier. It was now occupied by a man reading a newspaper.

 

"I saw them coming out of that," he pointed "department store together. She had been here shopping by herself, much like you actually. And he had been here shopping with his younger sister."

 

"Poor Rigsby. I wonder what bet he lost to have to do that." Lisbon chuckled slightly. Jane started walking toward the food court and Lisbon followed. It seemed like she didn't even realize she was doing it until they had arrived at the Hot Dog on a Stick counter. Lisbon looked up, perplexed. "How do you know this is where I eat when I come here?"

 

Jane looked at her with a slight smile. "I didn't. This is where I always go. They have the best lemonade."

 

They both looked at each other and laughed. Jane was glad he had made sure to run into her today. He really was having a good time.


	3. Wayne Rigsby

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a boss at work named Wayne, and every time I write that name I can't help but think of a slightly older than middle aged man who is balding, wears glasses and has a pot belly, and is completly clueless. Just thought I'd share. Thanks to Ebony 10 for being my beta.

He couldn't believe he was stuck at the mall all day with his sister. It was unbearable. How was he supposed to know his dad really could eat all those cookies? This was the third store they had gone into and he was starting to wilt.

 

He was following his sister around the store, not really paying attention to what she was saying. He looked around, trying to find a way to get out of this hell and he thought he saw someone. He ducked behind a rack and looked again. Yup, it was Van Pelt. No way did he want her to see him shopping with his sister.

 

There had to be something he could do to get his sister to leave the store. His stomach growled and inspiration struck. "Jan, I'm hungry; can we go get something to eat?"

 

That started his sister going. Complaining that he was always hungry and using being hungry as an excuse to get out of shopping with her. He got so wrapped up in his argument with his sister that he totally forgot that he had started complaining about being hungry to avoid running into Van Pelt. That is, of course, until Jan caught her staring at them.

 

The only thing he could think was that he was so embarrassed. "Van Pelt, is that you?" He smiled, but inside he was thinking what an idiot he was. Of course it was Van Pelt.

 

"Hey, Rigsby, what brings you to the mall on your day off?" Van Pelt asked. She sounded so relaxed and he was so nervous. Why was he nervous?

 

"I lost a bet with my sister and now have the joy of spending the day at the mall with her. I'm having a blast." He was trying to sound like he was having fun, but knew she wasn't buying it. He wasn't really paying attention, but thought he heard his sister introducing herself.

 

He was still trying to think of something to say when he heard them talking about him always being hungry. That was the last thing he wanted—the girl he liked and his little sister getting together and exchanging stories. There was no way this could end well.

 

"I actually think I still have something in my bag from yesterday," Van Pelt said. She was talking about the snacks that she had started to bring with her on assignment to keep him from complaining about being hungry. But he had eaten them all or so he thought—well, except for the carrots.

 

"Not carrots, _please_ not carrots," he didn't think he could survive if he had to eat carrots for a snack. The only thing that would be worse was if she pulled out celery. He hated the little strings.

 

"Granola bar and raisins." Van Pelt said, producing them out of her bag.

 

"That's almost as bad as the carrots," Wayne grumbled, reluctantly taking them from Van Pelt. He was looking sadly at them and actually thinking about eating them when his sister spoke up.

 

You know, Grace, Wayne has really been a good brother most of the day, following me around the mall. I still have some shopping today. Would you mind going with him to the food court to get him some lunch? I'm sure he would rather spend the time with you than with his kid sister."

 

Wayne felt himself start to blush. He couldn't believe his sister had been so, so _forward_. He was about to tell his sister to knock it off when Van Pelt spoke first. "You know what Jan. I think that's a good idea. Come on, Rigsby. Let's see if we can find you some food."

 

Van Pelt stated to walk away and Wayne just looked at her in amazement. His sister gave him a gentle push and said, "Don't just stand there, you idiot. Go with her." Wayne quickly handed her the shopping bags he had been carrying and ran after her.

 

"Hey, Van Pelt, wait up!" Wayne called, quickly catching up to Van Pelt. "I'm sorry about my sister. She doesn't know when to mind her own business sometimes."

 

"That's ok, I don't mind. She reminds me of my own sister." Wayne noticed that she seemed a little sad when talking about her.

 

"Do you get a chance to see them very often?"

 

"I saw my parents at Christmas, but my sister wasn't able to come home so I didn't get a chance to see her."

 

They were nearing the food court now and Wayne's attention was now turning to the smells that were coming towards them. "What do you want for lunch?" he asked.

 

"That's the thing I always liked about food courts, you don't have to settle on one thing, you can go to as many places as you like."

 

"A woman after my own heart," said Wayne without thinking. He realized what he had said and turned to apologize. "I didn't mean that the way it sounded," he said quickly.

 

"That's ok, I knew what you meant." Van Pelt smiled sweetly at him and he felt better. They both decided to get pizza. Van Pelt also got a salad, but Rigsby got French fries, a burger and a Cinnabon cinnamon roll.

 

They were sitting at a table eating lunch, talking and enjoying each other's company when Van Pelt said, "Don't look now, but I think I just saw Jane and Lisbon come out of Victoria's Secret."

 

Her saying this caused him to almost choke on his soda. "Together?" he coughed turning his head to look, even though she had told him not to.

 

"Not together, but almost at the same time. Look, they're talking to each other now." They both looked as discretely as possible at the two. Wayne noticed the Victoria's Secret bag that Lisbon was holding.

 

"I can't wait to see Cho," said Wayne, now that he had recovered from the initial shock.

 

"Why?" Van Pelt couldn't help but be curious.

 

"He's going to owe me 100 bucks when I tell him that I saw Jane and Lisbon coming out of Victoria's Secret together. We had a bet going. I said they were in a relationship and Cho said they weren't."

 

"Just because they're shopping together doesn't mean that they're in a relationship." Van Pelt seemed disappointed as she said this, but Wayne was too distracted at the possibility of getting $100 from Cho to worry.

 

"Trust me, there's no way a normal guy would go into that store unless he was helping pick something out."

 

"Yes," Van Pelt took a drink of her soda, "but Jane is not a normal man."

 

"I guess you're right." He was disappointed. He wasn't going to win the $100 after all. Then he had an idea. He would get to spend more time with Van Pelt and win the bet. "We should follow them."

 

"What?" Van Pelt looked a little shocked. He couldn't possibly be suggesting what she thought.

 

"Yeah, we can follow them and see what they do. Maybe we can see them doing something that would prove that they were in a relationship." He looked as giddy as a kid in a candy store.

 

"I suppose that could be fun." She was really just looking for an excuse to spend time with Wayne.

 

"Hey, look, they're coming over this way." They looked down at the table and pretended to be interested in eating. "They're getting Hot Dog on a Stick. I should have got a corn dog."

 

"Focus, Rigsby, we don't want them to know that we're watching them." Van Pelt realized that she was going to enjoy this surveillance.

 


	4. Teresa Lisbon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one got away from me, and is longer than I originally intended. Thanks to Ebony10 for betaing for me. Next and last part will be up tomorrow, reviews always appreciated.

Teresa Lisbon pulled into the parking space at the mall and turned off her car. This was not what she had planned to do with her Saturday off, but she was here anyway. Jane had used the last of the lotion in her desk on Thursday and so she was here to buy more. She put her I-Pod on—she had no desire to be disturbed today. She was going to forget that she didn't want to be here and just let go off all the stress she had at work. She was going to enjoy herself.

She decided to head straight to the store she needed first, then she would look around. She knew that the lotion at Victoria's Secret wasn't the cheapest, but she liked the scents that they had. And it would give her a chance to look at the _other_ things that the store sold. She'd never admit it to anyone, but she liked to wear the nicer things, even at work. It made her feel more feminine, which was helpful when she did such a masculine job.

She was almost there now, enjoying the fact that the music was blocking out the sounds of the screaming kids dragged here by their parents as well as the teenagers goofing off and hanging out. She almost stopped when she saw who was sitting on the bench right in front of the store. What was he doing here today of all days?

She knew it was he who had used the last of her lotion. He probably did it on purpose, knowing that she was going to have to come here to get more. Sometimes he could be such an ass. She decided to just ignore him. Maybe he wasn't waiting for her. Maybe he wouldn't try to follow her. Maybe he wouldn't see her. She knew it was pointless, but she hoped anyway.

She went into the store, not looking at Jane as she passed. She grabbed the lotion first. She wanted to make sure she had it in case she had to make a hasty retreat. When he didn't come in right away she decided that she was safe to look around. She was looking at some of the lingerie, trying to decide between red and blue when she felt someone come up behind her.

"Are you planning on wearing that to work? Because I would pay to see it." She felt his breath on her neck and had to suppress a shiver. There was no need for him to know that she regularly wore things like this to work. She couldn't stop the blush from rising in her checks.

"I was just looking, for your information. I had to come in and buy more lotion. Someone used all of mine." Teresa wasn't really mad, but she glared at him anyway.

"Hey, if you don't want people to use your lotion, don't leave it sitting on your desk." He had a boyish grin on his face. He knew she hadn't left it sitting on her desk and she told him that. Instead of apologizing he gave a flippant answer about having dry hands. He could be such an idiot at times, but that was one of the things she loved about him. Trying to ignore the fact that she had just admitted that she loved something about Jane, she quickly changed the subject.

"What are you doing in a woman's lingerie store anyway? Not hiding anything from the rest of the team are you?" She wasn't sure, but for just a second there it looked like he had been embarrassed. It didn't last long and she wasn't even sure she had seen it.

"No, I came into see if there was anything I could help you with. Any special occasions coming up that you are buying for?" Jane knew just what to say to make her blush and she could feel her face getting hot again.

She was trying to ignore him now, but it wasn't working. The sales lady come over and tried to get him to leave, but Jane being his normal charming self managed to embarrass Teresa even further and make the sales lady fall in love with him at the same time. She hated when he did that.

She decided that she just needed to pay and leave. There was no way she could buy anything else here today, not with Jane standing over her shoulder recommending colors. She paid quickly and left the store. She knew that Jane was going to try to follow her, so she attempted to hide behind a large couple on their way to the food court.

She had almost gotten away too when she heard him come up beside her. "Come to lunch with me."

She wasn't sure what she expected when she heard him coming up behind her, but that wasn't it. "I've already eaten lunch." She was lying, and she knew that Jane knew she was lying. Sure enough he didn't believe her.

"You're lying. It's just lunch. It won't kill you." He smiled at her again, always with that smile. It was going to be the death of her one day. She could feel herself giving in, but still felt the need to protest. No reason for him to win that easily.

"Rigsby and Van Pelt are eating lunch together." He said it as if that would help her make up her mind. She let him tell her how he knew that they were eating together. She knew that they were walking toward the food court, but didn't stop him. It was just lunch after all.

She noticed that they were now standing in front of Hot Dog on a Stick. "How do you know this is where I eat when I come here?"

Jane looked at her with a slight smile. "I didn't. This is where I always go. They have the best lemonade."

"I think you might just be psychic after all." She chuckled as they waited for their turn to order.

They stood at the counter "dressing" their dogs, "You eat yours with ketchup? What are you—like five?" Teresa asked.

"What's wrong with ketchup?" Jane asked putting even more on his tray than was necessary, as if to prove a point.

"Nothing is wrong with ketchup if you're a kid, but adults usually stick with mustard." She slathered her dog in mustard just to show that she was right.

"Well, most people would say that I remind them of a five year old, so it's ok." He grinned at her and went to sit down. They picked a table near Rigsby and Van Pelt. They wanted to see what they were going to do after lunch.

"Did you know that Cho and Rigsby have a bet going about whether we're involved in a relationship?" Teresa asked, not looking at Jane. She wanted to see his reaction, but didn't want him to see hers so it was best to not look at him.

"I did know that. The real question is how did you know?" Jane looked amused. Rarely did Lisbon know something like that. Maybe he was rubbing off on her.

"I'm psychic." She smiled at him and then said, "I overheard them talking."

"I knew there was no way you could have found out without someone telling you." She glared at him slightly. She wasn't really mad. It was the truth—she wasn't nearly as observant as he was.

"Hey, I think that they're looking at us," Lisbon said to change the subject. Jane looked up slightly, noticing that Rigsby whipped his head around and focused on Van Pelt with a little too much intensity.

"I think you're right. I bet Rigsby is trying to win his 100 bucks." He chuckled slightly. Lisbon looked at his face trying to figure out what he was thinking. She had an idea, but wasn't sure if he would go along with it. It was definitely something he would think of though, so he just might.

"Do you want to help him win?" she asked quickly so that she wouldn't lose her nerve. She looked at him hopefully.

"What did you have in mind?" He was careful to keep his face impassive. He wanted to hear what her plan was first.

"I bet they're planning to follow us. We could act like we're in a relationship. It could be fun." She could feel herself blushing and silently cursed her pale skin that showed every little color change. She made a mental note to try and get a little bit of a tan. It would help.

"I think you're right. It could be fun. We should start right now." He reached across the table and grabbed her hand. He held it gently for a few moments and rubbed his thumb across the back of it.

She was tempted to pull away. Any kind of touching by Jane was dangerous. There was no telling what he might be trying to do. Still, this had been her idea and she actually liked him holding her hand. "You have a little mustard on your face," Jane said breaking into her thoughts.

Teresa pulled her hand away from his to reach up and wipe it off. "Missed it," said Jane, "Here let me." He reached up and brushed his thumb along the corner of her mouth and bottom lip. "Got it." He said, wiping his hand on a napkin.

"Um, thanks," she said, absentmindedly reaching up and tracing the path that he had just seconds earlier. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea. They sat at the table for a few more minutes. Lisbon was trying to figure out what they could do at the mall all day that would convince Rigsby and Van Pelt that they were in a relationship. "There are a few more things I needed to do today here at the mall if you'd like to join me," Teresa said eventually.

"I'd love to." Jane smiled at her and stood up. He grabbed the tray and took it to the trash. When he came back, Teresa also stood up. To her surprise, Jane grabbed her hand as they started walking. "We have to sell it," he said when Teresa looked down at his hand.

They walked through the mall. Teresa was slightly leading them to the store she needed. She was slowly getting used to the feeling of Jane's hand in hers. She liked it. "I need to get a birthday gift for my brother and a gift for a friend's baby shower."

"What did you have in mind for your brother?" Jane glanced over his shoulder slightly. "They're still following us." He mumbled. He pulled Teresa's hand up and brushed his lips against her knuckles.

She blushed faintly. "What was that for?"

"I'm just trying to sell it." He said quietly. "So where are we going?"

"I think we can get both of the gifts taken care of at the Disney Store."

"What are you going to get for a twenty-five year old at the Disney Store?" Jane sounded amused.

"It's an ongoing joke between me and him. We both get each other something for our birthdays that we would have wanted when we were a kid. I'm thinking that I could get him a toy of some sort."

They had reached the store at this point and went in. The baby shower gift was easy. Teresa picked out a pair of pajamas that had Mickey on them, and a shorts outfit with Winnie the Pooh on it. "Your friend is having a boy?" Jane asked while looking at some of the toys on display.

"She is." Teresa wasn't really paying attention. She was looking at the men's clothing now, trying to decide if she should get her brother a t-shirt as well as a gag gift. She noticed out of the corner of her eye that Rigsby and Van Pelt had decided to stay outside of the store and were currently sitting on a bench that was right in front of the entrance.

 

"Hey, Lisbon, check it out!" Jane called to her from across the store. He had been looking at the small toys and trinkets by the registers. "It lights up and spins," he said as she came towards him. In his hands he held a plastic Buzz Lightyear toy with wires and lights sticking out of his neck. When Jane squeezed its legs together, the lights lit up and spun around in circles.

 

"No good. I got him one of those last year. He still has it. He was playing with it the last time I visited. What do you think about this?" Lisbon held up a Peter Pan play set, complete with hat and tights.

 

"Is he supposed to be able to wear that?" Jane laughed slightly.

 

"It's a gag gift. He's supposed to open it and laugh. It's Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up."

 

"I know, but maybe you could get him a gag gift he could actually use."

 

"Like what?"

 

Jane looked around and walked over to a large pile of stuffed animals and pulled out a rather large stuffed Eeyore. "What about this?"

 

"I have to ship it. I would like to pay less in shipping than for the actual gift." She walked over and started to look through the animals as well. "What the heck is this supposed to be?" She asked, holding up a strange looking gray animal with four arms, two feet, two antennas and two ears.

 

"That is experiment six two six, otherwise known as Stitch. He was in a Disney movie named "Lilo and Stitch" that came out in 2002. It was about an alien that lands in Hawaii. The movie didn't do so well in theaters, but now has several sequels and a TV show on Disney Channel."

 

Teresa looked at him like he was crazy, "How do you know that? Are you some sort of Disney genius?"

 

"No." was all he said. She was about to make a flippant remark about his answer when she realized that the movie had come out before Red John had killed his family. His daughter would have been the right age for the movie. She was going to say something about it when he reached into the pile and pulled out another doll.

 

"This is Lilo, his owner. She thought he was a dog." The doll was a little girl in a flower print dress with a big nose and long black hair.

 

"I think I'll get these. I wonder if I can still get the movie. That would make a nice combo, the dolls and the movie." She was still concerned about Jane's mood and so, on her way to the movie selection, gave Jane a gentle push into the pile of stuffed animals. His reflexes were better than she thought, however, and Jane pulled her down with him.

 

The landed with a thump in the pile of dolls, most of which went flying. They were laughing hysterically. They stayed on the ground for a few minutes until Teresa realized that Jane still had his arm around her waist. She turned her head to look at him and noticed how incredibly close they were. "Jane," she said nervously, "What are you doing?"

 

"I don't think they're watching us anymore." Whatever answer she had been expecting, that had not been it. She lifted her head up slightly and looked out the window to the store. Van Pelt and Rigsby were still sitting on the bench, but they were a lot closer than they had been before. As she was watching, she saw Rigsby lean in and kiss Van Pelt. It was little more than a peck, but it was enough for her to stop watching.

 

"No, I don't think that they are." She turned back to Jane and noticed that his face was now just inches from hers. "Jane," she was practically whispering. She knew he was going to kiss her. She could see it in his eyes. She leaned in.

 

"You two need to clean up this mess of leave." She silently cursed the bad timing of the salesman who chose that moment to come over and notice the mess they had made.

 

"Sorry." She mumbled under her breath, standing up and offering her hand to Jane to pull him up too. They quickly put all the stuffed animals back into the big pile. Teresa remembered to grab the Lilo and Stitch dolls and they walked up to the counter to pay.

 

"Can I get the movie that these two are from?" She asked the salesman behind the counter. It was the same one who had come over and gotten mad at them for making the mess. To her surprise, he didn't act mad now and gladly told her that the special edition was coming out. He continued to inform her that she could preorder it and have it shipped to her brother.

 

They walked right by the bench that Rigsby and Van Pelt were sitting on, much closer now than they had been before, and stopped just a few feet away. "Let's go to a movie." Teresa looked at Jane, not sure she had heard him right.

 

"You want to go to a movie?" She asked.

 

"Why not? I know I haven't been to a real movie in ages and I know you haven't been to one either. It won't hurt."

 

It wasn't that she thought it was going to hurt, but she hadn't been to a movie in so long. She just decided to go for it. "Sure, why not, have any suggestions?"

 

They walked toward the movie theater talking about the movies that were playing. They didn't notice that Rigsby and Van Pelt got up and followed them or that they were holding hands. Jane and Teresa also didn't realize that they too were holding hands. They had been doing it so much today that they didn't even realize they were doing it.


	5. Kimball Cho

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the last chapter. Thanks to all who reviewed, also to Ebony10 for being my beta.

Kimball Cho wanted to laugh. He didn't though—it wouldn't be like him. He had just seen the Boss and Jane walking hand in hand into the movie theater. Almost right behind them, he saw Rigsby and Van Pelt walk into the movie theater, too. It was almost too much to believe.

 

He had been heading to the movies as well. His girlfriend had wanted to see the newest chick flick and who was he to say no? If he had learned one thing from Jane, it was that a woman really wanted "love and attention." And that's what he tried to give to her.

 

He was curious to see what movie they were going to see. He had a hunch it was the same one he was going to see. He watched all four of them get popcorn and sodas. Jane and Lisbon got M&M's, too.

 

"Hey, honey," Cho said to his girlfriend, a beautiful woman, a little on the shorter side, but still very pretty. "I think we should get some M&M's. They go really good in the popcorn."

 

"That sounds like a good idea. What made you think of it?"

 

"I just saw my boss getting some." He said it in his normal deadpan.

 

"Your boss is here? I'd like to meet her." She started looking around, as if she would know who she was looking for.

 

"I think she's here on a date with someone else from work. I don't really want to disturb her. I should, though. If she is on a date, I'm out $100."

 

"How would you loss $100?" They were walking towards the theater and Cho saw Van Pelt and Rigsby going in.

 

"I bet one of my coworkers that the Boss and another one of our coworkers weren't in a relationship. I'm pretty sure that I've lost. I just saw them going into the movie theater and I saw the guy I bet going in with the woman he's been in love with since the first day he saw her."

 

"I'm not sure that makes sense. Can you say that one more time?" She looked confused. Cho had never said his girlfriend was the brightest bulb in the box.

 

"My boss is dating the consultant and my friend is dating the love of his life." Cho said. To the casual observer it would look like he was mad, but he was just Cho being Cho.

 

They went into the theater and picked seats near the back. From their vantage, Cho could observe all of the people in the theater. He looked and found Van Pelt and Rigsby (sitting on the side towards the back, but not as far back as Cho) and Lisbon and Jane (as close to the middle as they could get.) It seemed the perfect spots for them.

 

After the movie started, his girlfriend was glued to the screen and he was free to look around. He looked over at Van Pelt and Rigsby, sitting on the side of the theater. It was obvious that Rigsby was not enjoying the movie, but he was enjoying the person he was watching it with. They were sitting next to each other, trying not to sit too close, but every so often they would slide just a little closer together.

 

Cho laughed. By the end of the movie, they would probably be sitting in each other's laps. He was glad that his laugh came at the same time as everyone else in the theater. He wouldn't want to tip off his girlfriend that he wasn't paying attention.

 

Lisbon and Jane were a little harder to figure out. They had started the movie sitting close to each other, closer than friends, but not as close as some of the other couples in the theater. As Cho watched them, he saw Jane put his arm around Lisbon's shoulder and saw Lisbon lean her head on his shoulder. They looked like they really belonged together.

 

He knew then that he wouldn't mind giving Rigsby the $100 on Monday. It would be worth it to see the Boss happy and the knowledge that Rigsby had finally managed to not screw up with Van Pelt was nice, too.


End file.
